Maintenance tips for sink plumbing

There are a few rooms in your home where the water services mean just a little bit more than in the rest of the house. The bathroom and the kitchen are generally the places where you want to be sure the pipes and drains are in good working order and knowing something about the sink plumbing in each room is important.

plumbing in each of these locations needs to be kept clean and whenever possible, that can be done by the homeowner with a small auger. However, there are times when the issue needs to be looked at from a different vantage point.

There’s a trap under the sink that looks like an elbow in the pipe and when the auger doesn’t work, you might need to take this section of what’s above the drain apart to get at the clog. Remember, what you put down the sink will often determine what gets struck there and animal hair and cooking grease should be avoided.

If there’s water under the sink itself, it might be time to change the unit out. Replacing one sink with another of the same size is easy, but remember to shut the water off first either at the main source or the shut off value at the appliance.